Lord Rosebery

“That of All Parts of Our History...”

In the autumn of 1895, Crockett exchanged four letters with Lord Rosebery, who had served as Prime Minister of Britain from 1894 to 1895. The ostensible purpose was research: Crockett had been writing working on what would become Men of the Moss Hags for serialisation (1895) and sought access to original Covenant documents held at Dalmeny House. The correspondence, however, reveals rather more than a researcher seeking primary sources.

The first letter, dated 31st October, opens with an apology for tardiness, offered with a frankness that speaks to Crockett’s social confidence by this stage in his career: he had been, he explained, “driving the ‘screevin baa’ at the links.”  Three letters followed in quick succession, arranging and confirming a visit to Dalmeny House. The thank-you letter of 18th November records what the meeting had meant: “I shall always remember your words also — that of all parts of our history that of the Covenanters stirred you most deeply. That is a true Scot — and none but a true Scot can feel it.”  

The relationship continued. In February 1897, Crockett wrote to ask whether Rosebery would be willing to propose him for membership of the Reform Club. Rosebery agreed; Crockett was elected on 17th February 1898. The trajectory — from a request for archive access to a London club nomination — was not incidental. Literary reputation had opened a door; the correspondence did the rest.

A small detail from the Dalmeny House visit found its way into Crockett’s fiction more than a decade later. Rosebery’s racehorse Ladas — which had won the Derby in 1894 — appears in Little Esson (1907). It is an example of how Crockett collected what he encountered among the powerful, and used it in his fiction.